Myrtle Beach Girls Trip

This summer has gone by so fast, as they usually do!  But I was so glad to be able to get some girl time in a beautiful place.  Jessica and I traveled to Myrtle Beach for a long, relaxing weekend.  The weather was not exactly perfect  (super hot one day, cloudy and rainy the next) but it was great to be able to rest, relax, and read by the beach and pool.  Dana Sarber, who lives in North Carolina, came down to visit with us as well.  We ate some yummy food, walked a lot of steps, watched some movies, and had a lot of peace and quiet.  I loved the time at the beach, but missed my family too.  Hoping to make at least a biannual girls trip happen!

Boardwalk on the Beach had some awesome restaurants and fun shops!

Soccer and Swimming Lessons

Last year both of the kids tried soccer in Nappanee.  Landon LOVED it and Emerson said she got too hot doing it.  So she decided not to do it again.  :) He has really enjoyed this season too.  It is more intense, with several practices and games more than once a week.  He really goes after the ball and of course talks the whole time he's doing it!  It's been fun to watch him.
Both kids were super excited about swim lessons again this year.  They are really growing to enjoy the water.  Emerson has no problem getting her face wet and is starting to swim, especially under water.  Landon is a bit more hesitant and doesn't like to stay under water long.  But I can see some definite improvement in both kids!

Girls Weekend

Matt, John, and Amos took the boys (except the twins) camping last weekend so Emerson and I had some time to bond.  She likes to stay busy and have a plan so I had my hands full! :) 
We went out to lunch with Aunt Kristina and to see "Inside Out" at the movie theater.  The movie was cute but seemed geared toward older kids.  I'm not sure she understood all of it, but we had fun either way.
Jessica invited us for a sleepover on Friday.  We went over for tacos, movies, and swimming in their pond.  All the girls had a great time hanging out together!
I told Em we could make something out of her Disney Princess cookbook for a meal, but she couldn't find the book.  That didn't slow her down though.  She went through my cookbooks and found a new recipe to try.  We had yummy raspberry parfaits.  She has been really interested in cooking lately, which is fun.
It was nice to hear about the boys trip and I am so grateful that we can make all of these memories with our kids.

First Missing Tooth

Over the course of their Kindergarten year, both kids at one time or another have claimed to have a loose tooth.  So when Emerson said she had one a week or so before we went on vacation, we were skeptical. :)  It turns out, she actually did have her first loose tooth. 
She worked at it awhile, but it didn't come out until she pulled it out.  We happened to be in the middle of Ham Lake on a canoe, but she was a great sport about it!  We decided to wait until we got home to put her tooth in her very own tooth pillow.  She was really excited and woke up super early the next morning to find a note from her tooth fairy (Daisy Sparkle) and some money.  Now she is anxiously awaiting her next loose tooth!

Minnesota Family Vacation

Matt absolutely LOVES his yearly trip to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota each year with his middle school students.  He talks about it constantly and has always said that we should go as a family.  Well, I was really NOT excited about camping in tents without running water, showers, toilets, etc.  I mean, we did just get an RV. :)  So, we compromised and went up to Tuscorora (the outfitter he plans with) and stayed in one of their family cabins.  It is an absolutely beautiful area and we enjoyed some great family time together with no phone, internet, tv to distract us!
We left on Thursday, July 2nd and took 2 days to drive the 14+ hours.  The kids did GREAT in the car.  I brought some surprises (little trinkets from the Dollar Tree) for them to open every few hours just to keep things fresh and we also rented movies from Red Box and then returned them in a different city when we were done with them.  The kids liked getting to choose a new movie to watch and it helped keep them entertained.

July 3rd
When we got to the outfitter, we wanted the kiddos to get out and use some of that built up energy, so we all rode bikes around the cabins and lakes and the kids also went swimming in Round Lake, where our cabin was.

As you might guess, the water was cold.  They didn't mind though and once you got used to it, it wasn't too bad!

 July 4
We chose this day to do a day trip to Larch Lake before driving into the closest town (Grand Marais, which was an hour away) for fireworks.  Unfortunately, our day did not start out how we thought.  As soon as we got all of our equipment unloaded, Matt went to park our SUV and hit a sharp rock.  The guys at the outfitter were super helpful in making sure we got a new tire, but it definitely slowed us down a bit.  Once we got going, though, we had a great time canoeing through the creek to get out to the big lake.

While we waited, we explored the woods.

Swimming in the cold water (Landon wasn't too fond of it)

Cool water tower

 Grand Marais is right on Lake Superior, so it was pretty chilly for fireworks, but we dressed for it and had a great time.  The kids LOVED it, even though they wore about 4 layers of clothes in July! :)

July 5

After a late night, we decided to take it easy the next day and go on a few family bike rides and swim at the pier.

We saw several loons and bald eagles, but no bears or moose on this trip.

Love kids in goggles :)

Our sand castle

 July 6
This day started out overcast and rainy so we stayed around the cabin.  Matt took each of the kids out fishing for awhile while I entertained the other and read.

View of Round Lake from our cabin

Here's Emmy with her catch!

 We went about 25 minutes away to a yummy restaurant called Trail Center.  We enjoyed all the home cooked food and yummy milkshakes.  It's not the most economical place to get gas though, $4.75 a gallon.  I guess that is expected though when gas stations are few and far between!

Landon was thrilled with all of the state license plates in the restaurant

July 7

Matt and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary paddling out to Ham Lake.  I did not get any pictures on this day because we did some portaging where we had to get out of the canoe and carry all of the equipment through the woods on a trail to get to the next part of the lake.  We had a really nice day and the kids were great with helping carry things.

July 8

Our last morning at Tuscarora.  The kids will miss biking around and I'll miss the serene environment.  Matt will miss fishing (although he'll go back next summer).  The cabin was wonderful, 3 bedrooms, and everything we needed.  There were many mosquitoes/black flies at the outfitter.  You had to dress in layers for the weather and the bugs.

 I was interested in going to the Mall of America in Minnesota on our way home (actually it was about 2 hours out of the way).  I had been there as a teenager and remembered the rides and how huge it was.  We got there about 4:30 and the kids rode a few rides, we ate dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimps, and did a little shopping.  Emerson was in heaven finding an American Girl store.

 July 9
Today was a LONG day in the car.  We drove from 10:30-8:30, stopping every so often for potty breaks and food, but we were all very glad to pull into our driveway.
Overall, I think everyone really enjoyed our trip and I know the kids are already talking about going back.  Even though it was a different vacation from what I am used to, I had a good time and am certainly glad that we did it.

Father's Day and Camping with the RV

This year we were blessed to be able to have Matt home with us for the whole day on Father's Day, usually he is just getting back from the Boundary Waters.  The kids picked out a HUGE Nerf gun and made him a t-shirt with roads on the back that they can drive their cars on (to give their Daddy a back massage :)).

We went to Steven and Kristina's to celebrate, with mom and dad too, for supper.  We had delicious steaks, potato salad, lettuce salad, and strawberry pie. It's been so nice having the Clarks back in the area!

We couldn't ask for a better role model.  The kids love playing sports, wrestling, fishing, playing dolls, and whatever else they can think of with him.  He's always willing to pitch in and help out around the house with meals, baths, hair cuts, etc.  We love you, Matt!!  

 We have now been camping in the RV twice and have really enjoyed it.  It is a breeze to pack and clean up and we can store a lot of the essentials in there so we don't have to repack each time.  We've been to Chain O' Lakes twice with it.  The first time we went during the week and it was so quiet.  We LOVED it!  We could pick our spot and there were hardly any other families there.  Definitely the way to go for our family.  We swam, canoed, and the kids rode bikes ALL OVER!!  They have loved their 2 wheel bikes this summer.
The second time we went camping was with the Frye's.  We love going camping with them.  It's great to be able to sit around and chat.  The kiddos are old enough to entertain themselves for the most part so we get some great adult time too.  (I didn't take any pictures of this trip, but it was still fun!).
This fall, we're going to try Potato Creek and are hoping the Davis family will get to come too.  I've never been camping in the fall, but with the warm RV, it should be a lot of fun!  Can't wait to make more memories camping together with family and friends!